Cookie Notice

We use cookies for analytics and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by dismissing this message box or continuing to use our site. To find out more, including how to change your settings, see our
Cookie Policy

This past July I organized a vertical tasting of d’Angerville Clos
des Ducs. It’s a wine I’ve loved and followed for many years. The Domaine is,
of course, one of the most illustrious in Burgundy, thanks in part to the
efforts of the current Marquis’ grandfather, Sem d’Angerville, who stood up to
the négociants in the 1920s in response
to their corrupt blending practices and who subsequently became one of the
first to estate bottle his wines. On Sem’s
death in 1952, he was succeeded by his son Jacques, who further burnished the
reputation of the estate. Guillaume, the
current Marquis d’Angerville, enjoyed a successful career as an investment
banker in London, New York and Paris, taking over the estate when his father
died unexpectedly in the summer of 2003. It was a real baptism by fire, as 2003
was the hottest vintage on record.

Sem d'Angerville

Clos des
Ducs is a monopole, a picturesque, walled vineyard unfurling from the tree line
at the top of the village of Volnay. The
drainage is superb and an underground spring near the center of the vineyard
helps keep the vines active in drought years. The soil, relatively deep, is a complex mixture of argilo calcaire and marne
blanche. Clos des Ducs’ position on the northern hill of Volnay, facing east
to south-east, is unique in the village. Many fans of this wine have suggested
that it merits Grand Cru status. Certainly it has the longevity of many Grand
Crus; in fact it is famously slow to blossom and show all of its colors. In bigger,
more structured vintages, the wine can seem remarkably young, even after twenty
years of aging. For all its structure, Clos de Ducs is not necessarily a
massive wine, rather it is more linear and focused than Premier Crus farther
down the slope and almost always shows a distinct mineral streak. Guillaume d’Angerville likes to refer to it
as “Cistercian,” (meaning, I take it, that it is typically reserved rather than
opulent, the Cistercians having broken away from the Benedictine order with the
goal of returning monastic life to the asceticism and simplicity espoused by
St. Benedict.) This is a wine for
connoisseurs and lovers of classical Burgundy; even in hot vintages, Clos des
Ducs will never be mistaken for a New World Pinot.

I’ve been
tasting at the estate and collecting Clos des Ducs for a number of years. When
Guillaume d'Angerville told me he was going to be on the East End of Long
Island I decided it was time to conduct a vertical. Over the years I’ve
discovered quite a few other Burgundy lovers who share my enthusiasm for the
d’Angerville Volnays – particularly Clos des Ducs – many of whom aren’t otherwise
all that interested in the reds of the Côte de Beaune. We constitute a bit of a cult, so it wasn’t
hard to round up tasters for this event. Many of the wines came from my own cellar, others from fellow collectors
including Doug Barzelay, David Blank and Roger Stein. Guillaume d’Angerville shipped
over a few treasures ahead of the tasting, including a 1920 Clos des Ducs and a
1937 Volnay Chevret, from a vineyard no longer owned by the domaine. David
Beckwith, of Grand Cru Consulting, performed sommelier duties and arranged the
wines in flights based on perceived vintage similarity, though I will for
convenience sake list the wines chronologically.

Guillaume d'Angerville

One of the
qualities demonstrated by our tasting was a remarkable consistency. Many
so-called "off vintages" showed extremely well. Vintages such as ’95, ’92, ’74, and ’72 all greatly exceeded our
expectations; there were a few disappointments, including bottles of ‘99 and
’71, two legendary Ducs, which may have had storage issues.